EGYPT: Arrest by Night

Long after taps one night last week, the
Egyptian Army's GHQ in Abbasiya was ablaze with lights. Outside the
two-story building, steel-helmeted troops cradled their automatic
rifles while inside, Premier Gamal Abdel Nasser met with members of the
Revolutionary Command Council in an emergency session. Nasser was
convinced that civilian and army enemies were plotting to overthrow the
regime in a May Day uprising.

While Nasser outlined his plans to his fellow officers, jeeploads of
uniformed military policemen fanned out into Cairo to nab the suspects
before they had a chance to be tipped off. By daybreak twelve junior
army...